Paramount
by BlumberBerry
Summary: Everything changes when Orihime has a new soul resident. How did he get here? Why is he here? Why is Ulquiorra living inside Orihime? Her instincts are all confused to this, but seach for a way to help the espada find his way out and to a heart.
1. Chapter 1

She sat in the corner, guarding herself from the outside world as the signs of fear and anguish streamed down her face. Her heartbeat increased and whimpers echoed throughout her room.

Orihime once again missed school that day. It's been five days since the defeat of Aizen, yet the auburn haired girl had yet to even attempt on going to school. All she could think about was the pain, sorrow, and confusion as the presence of it leaked from every pore on her body.

"What am I worth?" She whimpered into her arms as another tear slid down her cheek. "I couldn't do anything when we went to save Rukia!" Orihime barely choked out as another whimper escaped her lips. "And now…" She sniffled, "I-I still can't do anything! I couldn't protect myself, I couldn't protect my friends!" Orihime buried her head into her knees in a slump. "I dragged them out after I left to protect them, and everyone got hurt, except me!" Another sniffle. "If Rukia was to disappear, everything would be different. Ichigo would have never become a shinigami. Sado and me wouldn't have our powers. But what about me, what if I were to disappear?"

Orihime considered this, and then glared up at the ceiling. "Nothing…." She muttered under he breath.

"Nothing.." she continued in a stronger voice. "I make no part of this. Everything would be for the best if I were to disappear. I'm not important, not for anything, everything would be for the best in everyone's lives if I were to disappear…." Her eyes shut tight, trying to block the next rush of tears about to escape. "….and I just should"

As the words passed her lips, an extreme pressure was pressed on her chest. A scream exhorted through her room as Orihime pushed herself against the wall in pain. Suddenly, something white started to appear from her chest. Orihime stared in awe as the white material collected magically together in front of her, as if a person was being made. After that, en extreme light radiated from the being.

"So, you're just as pathetic as I thought."

Her eyes cracked open at the voice. Orihime's eyes widened at the being, which stood before her.

It was an exact image of herself, wearing the old and forgotten arrancar uniform, but her hair and skin were pure white, as if albino. The scleras of her eyes were black and the cornea was an invigorating yellow.

Her arms were crossed against her chest in a relaxed fashion with an amused yet perturbed look on her face. Her gaze landed on Orihime disgustedly. "Here I am trying to catch up on some sleep on I'm called out by the _princess." _

Orihime was still sitting in the corner as her eyes met with the pale version of herself. Her aura was extremely similar to the arrancar in Hueco Mundo.

"Who are you?" Orihime asked with as much courage she could muster up from her already fragile body, which wasn't much so every word she muttered was cracked.

The being bellowed a laugh. "Your instinct."

"My…instinct?" Orihime asked.

The being nodded, "I can be compared to Ichigo Kurosaki's hollow. I am your inner power that sometimes takes control of your body." Her pale finger went up to her chin. "I only recently was able to take control of you when you slapped that arrancar."

Orihime was utterly confused. _That was her?_

"I'm not here to explain what I am, but I'll give you a few notes so you'll quit giving me that stupid look. I am your instincts, I can sometimes take control of your body when your rage hits it's climax. But what ever I do with your body, it's your true intentions, I just bring them to life."

Orihime stood up with little energy to face her _instincts _as she continued her explanation. "Sort of as a zanpaktoe coordinates to a shinigami, _we _instincts coordinate to humans who have advanced their soul, as you had done so many times in Soul Society and Hueco Mundo."

There was a moment of silence.

"Ok, enough explaining. I came here because I was tired of the rain in your soul. Your gloomy attitude is making it terrible for all of us."

Orihime widened her eye. "Us?" she questioned.

"Yah." The Instinct remarked. "Me and all your shun shun Rukka. Anyways…" The Instinct slumped her arms down in a relaxed manner. She was the total opposite from Orihime. "I came here to stop the rain."

Another terribly bright light radiated from the Instinct after she voiced those words, Orihime flinched and shielded her eyes from the brightness until she felt her hand in someone's grasp as she was being pulled into the light.

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Once the light deceased, Orihime opened her eyes to what appeared to be a school playground for elementary students. The auburn haired wreck of a teen turned to her side, where stood the instinct. "Where are we?" she asked.

Instead of an immediate answer, the instinct pointed to something in the sand. Orihime's gaze followed to the direction of where she was pointing and widened her eyes.

It was her, when she was 8 years old, crying in the sand with pieces of her hair scattered around the floor. Three children were standing over her, all with a pair of scissors at hand laughing at the young Orihime.

Suddenly, a young raven-haired girl ran towards the group, and with a few quick moves, the three standing kids were now lying on the floor knocked out. The young Orihime looked up from her tears to the girl that just came to her rescue. Her gaze went down to her arms, where she found a cast, that was now ripped in half due to the assortments of punches blown to the already broken bone.

"Are you ok?" The young Orihime asked, wiping away the last bits of her tears. "Yah," replied the other girl, "I'm fi-"

The raven-haired girl fell down her on her knees and cried out in pain coming from her already broken bone.

The teen Orihime turned once again back to her instinct. "What is this? How am I here?" she questioned accusingly.

The albino being sighed, "You said you weren't important…remember? And you wanted to disappear, correct?" she questioned.

Orihime didn't answer.

"Well," continued the instinct, "This is where you first met Tatski. It was also when her arm permanently lost the control of one of her nerves, saving you. That's why Tatski was never able to win 1st place at any of her championships, due to this disability."

"What are you saying?" Orihime questioned. Surprisingly, her voice had a small trace of courage. The instinct was confused as to where this little bit was coming from, but then went back to explaining.

"Now watch what'll happen…" she raised her hand, "If you were to disappear." With a snap of her fingers, the two were now in a bedroom, Orihime knew as Tatski's room. "Look over there." The instinct pointed to a shelf of trophies. "Read what they say."

Orihime complied, and walked over to the shelf.

_'__Tatski Arisawa. 1__st__ place'_

She turned back to the instinct confused and stated, "Tatski never won first place." The albino nodded. "That's correct. But currently, we are in a world where you were never born."

Orihime quickly understood what the instinct was trying to say and lowered her eyes in a sad movement. If she was feeling terrible before, she was feeling worse now. Just being proved correct that one of her friend's life would be better without her.

"Ok, now off to Soul Society."

Those were the last words Orihime heard before another extreme light radiated from the being known as her instinct,

Once again when she was finally able to see, Orihime was indeed in Soul Society, the seretie to be more exact. There they saw the Orihime dressed in a shinigami kimono and Uryu dressed in one as well.

It was nighttime, and Uryu just informed Maki Maki to take Orihime away.

With a snap of the instinct's fingers, time stopped, and the current Orihime looked up at her in confusion. "Let's hear what Uryu is thinking." She replied to the teen's puzzled look. With another snap, time began once more, and Maki Maki took Orihime away. But this time, all you could hear was the sound of Uryu's voice. It was his thoughts;

'_If Orihime was here during this fight about to occut, then she would just get in the way and get us both killed. I'm not sure if she'll be ok alone without anyone to protect her, she's just not strong enough. And what if that shinigami tries something on her, how will she protect herself? Well, enough thinking, it's time to fight this soulreaper.'_

Orihime almost broke out in tears at the words she heard. With her last bit of energy, she sucked up an extensive amount of air and held it, as if holding back the pain she felt earlier in her room alone.

She was once again proved correct that she was just in her friend's way, and they believed she couldn't protect herself, she was…._weak._

"Just holding it back causes the thunderstorms to collect, and once you do let it out, the rain is tripled. So quit causing us all this pain."

The instinct's words echoed through her head. She was even a pain to her own soul residents. Orihime parted her lips to begin speaking again until another light flashed before her eyes, and she found herself standing on a green plain, which was still surrounded by trees. Many bodies were on the ground, dead, and she could see herself standing up with courage.

It was when Ulquiorra and Yami came for the first time to the world of the living. Yami attacked Chad, Tatski was on the ground, barely conscience, Orihime was standing up after her shield shattered from Yami's finger.

All of a sudden, time froze with another snap of the instinct's hands. "Ok, so who's thoughts would you like to hear now?" The being asked, twirling her finger from one person to another, waiting for Orihime to choose.

After a while in silence, the instinct said, "Ok, I'll choose for you. How about…." Her finger twirled to the right, "Ulquiorra!"

Time continued, but you could only hear Ulquiorra's voice.

'_She has healing powers. No, that's not it, this is not a healing technique. She's either reversing time or space. Whatever it is, it's not the power to heal, but it's something I have never seen before.'_

With another snap of the instinct's fingers, his thoughts were muted, and everything else could be heard.

Suddenly, the being whirled her fingers causing time to speed up, until Ichigo came. "Lets hear Ichigo's thoughts, shall we?" asked the instinct, not really caring whether or not Orihime complied. Time began moving again, but all that could be heard was Ichigo's thoughts, as his sword blocked Yami's hand from Orihime.

'Thank goodness, I got here just in time. Well not really, Chas was attacked, but he could handle a hit like that. Orihime wouldn't though, so if I didn't come when I did, she would surely be dead. What was she thinking, coming out like this when she knows she can't fight, only heal.'

Time froze again. "Interesting ain't it?" the Instinct inquired. "Ichigo complies you as only able to heal, while Ulquiorra knows there's more to it than that."

Orihime spun away from facing the scene and faced her soul resident, tears streaming down her face.

"What are you trying to prove?" She spat at her clone. "I know its better off if I was gone! I know there's so much more to show me on how my friends came to save me! I know it already!"

A chuckled bellowed from the albino form of Orihime. "Ahh Orihime. I'm not planning on showing you anything else including your so-called '_friends.' _In fact, I don't even know why you call them that, considering how they think of you."

She walked up to Orihime until she was in arm's reach.

"What I plan on showing you now is something that will open your eyes…hopefully. What's next has nothing to do with your _friends. _In fact, it's someone you'll least expect. Next we will hear all of someone's thoughts they had of you."

Orihime wiped the tears from her cheeks and choked out, "Who?"

The instinct smiled an evil grin, similar to Hichigo or Grimmjow's.

"You will now hear all the thoughts this person had on you, and this person is….."

The instinct paused, longing to see just how much Orihime wanted to know. The auburn haired teen seemed off in a different world, barely paying attention as she wiped away more tears. But the albino knew that once she said this person's name, she'd start paying attention.

"….Ulquiorra."

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**I found my inspiration. Thank you for all your lovely ideas, but I actually thought of this one myself. I always felt bad for Orihime, if I were her, I would too feel as if I was a burden, ans always wanted to explain it in words. Anyways, do you guys like where this is heading? Do you think my writing got better? Please tell me, I'm super happy that I'm back from my writer's block. It's a great feeling.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

"Whether you agree or not, Ulquiorra's thoughts mostly contained you, and now it will now be evidenced for you."

With another snap of her fingers, Orihime and the instinct now stood in the dull corridors of Las Noches. Ulquiorra was leaning on what appeared to be the door to Orihime's cell.

"This is right after you said your meaning of existence was for Aizen's use, and Ulquiorra just left your room." The instinct explained.

The sound of crying was heard from behind the door. The present Orihime watched inventively as Ulquiorra sighed at the sobs coming from the girl in the room.

"She only hesitated for a moment." That was when Ulquiorra swept across the floor, and away from the scene. "What a strong willed woman."

Another snap of the fingers and time froze. Orihime glanced back at her opposite with annoyed face and parted her lips to begin speaking, until the instinct beat her to it.

"And you call yourself weak?" The albino asked, in a bit of an exasperated tone. "Do you know how strong this guy is?!" She pointed at the frozen arrancar standing in the corridor, "He sure thinks your strong, if I didn't know any better, I'd say-"

"Why are you doing this?"

The instinct blinked with confusion at Orihime's tone of voice.

"How are you even showing me this? And more importantly….why?"

A chuckle was heard from the instinct. "Have you forgotten what Aizen said?" she inquired. Orihime sensed a shiver spark up her spine from hearing his name. "Your power can defy God, so I'm pretty sure you can do something as simple as hearing someone's thoughts."

A moment of silence.

"Either way, if you're asking how I am able to show you things you were not present at the time to see, like hearing Uryu's thoughts when you were long gone, it's because he is your friend and as you said, your hearts are united. Although I still find it hard to believe they are your friends. Either way, I am able to connect with their Instincts forcefully with the help of your Shun Shun Rukka, and well……...........................that's how it sort of happens."

Orihime still glared at her Instinct angrily. "Then why Uqluiorra? There are a number of reasons as to why I cannot be hearing his thoughts."

The instinct furrowed her eyebrows. "That's easy, it's because-"

She stopped for a moment, realizing what she was about to say. The albino sighed and now had a more relaxed expression. "You'll understand soon enough. But for now, I'm trying to prove a point to you, and to cease your rain. So do me a favor, actually a couple.

Shut up, watch, and quit asking questions."

Another snap of the fingers, and the two were now in the old and now abandoned cell that was once housed to Orihime.

Ulquiorra was standing in front of the still trapped teen, whose hand was raised to his face. She had just slapped him.

"Let us hear what he thought of this situation." The Instinct encouraged.

'_She slapped me._

_Although I could have easily stopped it, I wanted to see if she was that strong willed to actually commit in doing something as grave as that…..............................._

_Strong willed? Not afraid…..of…..me?'_

The instinct snapped her fingers again, and then bawled in an immense laugh. "Haha! That was when I had control, and boy, did I love the feeling!" The albino wiped a tear that had made it's way to her dark eyes during the moment of laughter.

"Ahh…good times, but I still can't believe YOU of all people wanted to slap him. Especially only after dissing your 'so called' friends."

Orihime was silent, but listened. The instinct took note of her lack of speech, and decided she didn't like being the only one talking.

"So…" she started, "….what do you think?"

"I don't."

The albino raised her eyebrows unknowingly. She was confused at Orihime's choice of words, her tone of voice, and how she was looking away. "Excuse me?" she asked, confused out of her mind. Although she was a resident in Orihime's soul, the teen still does know how to surprise anyone.

"I don't think of anything for this, and I thought you wanted me to shut up and listen."

The Instinct shrugged. "Have it your way then, but man, I think I'm starting to rub off on you."

Orihime sneered at her comment.

With another snap of her finger's they were now in a dark room.

Ulquiorra was standing on the flight of a staircase. Ichigo was down below, staring up with fear and anguish written clearly on his face, with a small arrancar in his hands.

Orihime and the instinct watched the scene unfold.

"Ulquiorra." Ichigo stuttered.

The black haired espada began walking down the steps. "I don't recall ever telling you my name."

Once he finally reached the ground, Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed ever so deeply.

Orihime could now hear Ulquiorra's thoughts, which were louder than the actual words being spoken.

'_I'm not to sure on how ignorant this shinigami is, so I suppose I'll test him for an advantage in battle.'_

"At any rate, Rukia Kuichiki is dead." Ulquiorra commented blankly.

"What did you say?" asked Ichigo.

Ulquiorra took in Ichigo's reaction, and then continued. "More accurately, she and espada 9 killed each other. She was covered in wounds, and her body was run through by a spear, she couldn't possibly be alive."

The shinigami's furrow slightly relaxed. "Don't jump to conclusions." He replied, "Her riastu just decreased a moment ago."

'_Amazing. He denies Rukia's death the same as Inoue Orihime did with Sado.'_

Time froze after another snap. "I don't like to much info, so we'll just fast forward to when we hear Ulquiorra's thoughts again."

With a whirl and snap of her fingers, time began at a different state.

"Where are you going?"

Orihime glanced to her side and saw Ichigo walking away, with Nel still in hand. After Ulquiorra's word's echoed in the room, the shinigami stopped.

"I'm going…to save Rukia."

'_He is indeed ignorant. Can he not sense Inoue's riatsu dreadfully close? Did he not come to save her? And he changes his plans for someone who is already dead….the fool. But why? How far is he willing to go?'_

"I believe I told you she's dead."

……………………………silence.

"I don't think she is." He muttered under his breath, in a yet stern voice.

Orihime rolled her eyes. Ichigo can never think such a thing of his _precious _Rukia. It angered her, she still loved him, and even he did call her weak, you cannot change one's feelings due to hearing someone's opinion.

"You're being obstinate. Wouldn't you want to kill me before you go?" The espada inquired.

_'I am the enemy after all. And turning your back to me, how foolish, I'm surprised this boy is still alive. Luck must be on his side.'_

"I have no reason to fight you." Ichigo replied, still facing away.

Orihime could have sworn Ulquiorra's eyes was in the early process of rolling, until his eyelid covered what could have been a glint of emotion.

_'His imprudence is….somewhat…amusing. Either way, I cannot allow him to leave. Force will be the quickest way, but this…….this reaction, what causes it? I must know, I must understand what caused Inoue Orihime to deny the truth,' _Ulquiorra realized how that souded, so then added,'_ and this shinigami as well.'_

"What does that mean?" Ulquiorra asked after much thought.

"You may be the enemy, but you have not harmed any of my friends yet." Ichigo explained, with a relaxed tone of voice.

_'So that's it? His friends…………..'_

………………………..silence

Ulquiorra turned to face the shinigami's back.

"I see. Would that still apply if I told you I was the one who forced Inoue Orihime to Hueco Mundo?"

Time froze after Ichigo's blade clashed with Ulquirra's arm.

"Well, on to the ne-"

"Wait!" Orihime voiced.

The instinct turned to face her. "Did they say anything else?" she asked. The albino raised her hand to her chin and rubbed as she thought. "I think there is, you want to see?"

Orihime nodded, still staring at the two froze in battle. It was starting to make sense.

The instinct snapped her fingers, and time began once more.

"I knew Inoue didn't come here on her own!"

_'Interesting, he calls the woman by her last name, but by the fallen shinigami by her first. And he has no trust in her? Then why is he saving her when there is no trust. What is his relationship?'_

"That's unexpected." he replied blankly, staring back into his brown eyes.

Ulquiorra was now basically voicing out his thoughts.

"You still held her doubts about her intentions, even though you came here to save her."

Riatsu was pouring from Ichigo's blade. "Don't you understand? Everyone's calling Inoue a traitor because of you!" He announced.

_'Why save a traitor?'_

"Makes sense. If it wasn't the case, then I'd miscalculated something."

_'If this shinigamu did not notice when I said I miscalculated something, and not Aizen, then he will surely die due to his lack of senses. It was indeed ME who forced Inoue Orihime here, and you must realize I had my ways of force. If not, then die.'_

Time froze.

"He sure is persistent. It sounds to me as if he is trying to remind himself that HE kidnapped you. That HE is the enemy to you."

Orihime stared at her feet, which for now seemed far more interesting then meeting her Instinct's glare, although she could feel it swallowing her. As her words processed in Orihime's mind, the same question made its way to her lips.

She asked in a hushed whisper, "Remind…..him….self?

..........

Why does he need to remind himself?"

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**I promise to you, the ending to Paramount will please all ULQUIHIME fans. If you liked this chapter or want me to continue, please say so in a review. Oh ya, and 8th grade just started. I have to say its better then 7th. But this guy keeps poking me for no reason and I just wanna kill him now. Should I? SHould I not? Will I get reviews? Will I not?**

**So many questions.**

**All must be answered by you~ Review Please.**


	3. Chapter 3

"What was that?" asked the instinct, indeed hearing Orihime's quiet mumble. "Why he needs to remind himself? Is that what you asked?" The albino solicited. Orihime looked up from her fingers that were tangled within each other, but had no reply. Instead her face gave her instinct the answer.

Her face gave off the feeling of confusion, sorrow, and a sense of pity.

The instinct placed her hand on her chin and said, "Now that I think about it, we did skip a lot. So that's why you're confused. But I don't have enough time to show you everything, so we're just skimming."

Orihime furrowed her eyebrows, "….not…e-enough time?"

The opposite nodded, "Yes. We're wasting time just chit chatting here. So lets get moving or-"

The instinct paused and her expression when to that as if just seeing a ghost. "….or….or….or" That was all she could say, but every word was stuttered with anxiety and fear.

Orihime stared at her opposite, as she turned pale, if that was even possible. Horror was written all over her face.

"Oh crap…." The instinct mumbled, "…she's coming…."

Orihime was confused at to how her once strong and self-centered soul resident was now a total wreck, and she didn't ebem understand as to why this was happening, or what was happening for that matter.

All of a sudden, a bright light reflected from Orihime's hairpins. The rays were so blazing that the teen had to shield her eyes as she heard her instinct yelp, "She's here!"

_She?_

Orihime fell to her knees still protecting her fragile eyes from the light. What was happening? Who was here?

So many questions were racing through Orihime's mind as the immense rays actually caused her to sweat, and it lit up the dark room in which the frozen ulquiorra and ichigo still stood.

"Euoni, I hope you have an explanation for this"

The light ceased and a figure towered over Orihime, but facing the instinct.

"I-I uh……" stuttered the instinct.

'_Wait, Euoni? Is that the instinct's name?' _At that thought, Orihime jerked up to face a black kimono. This new being turned to face the teen still on her knees, with a calm and collected expression.

Orihime gasped. It was…her? It was herself, dressed as a shinigami…..with a zanpakto at her side. The teen only stared mesmerized, this person just came from the bright light that radiated from her hair clips.

"W-Who are you?" Orihime choked out. This new being's glare struck through Orihime, but it was different from the instinct's, this one was calm and had a sense of compassion.

"I'm Emihiro, your instinct."

This new instinct turned back to face the first as Orihime thoughts went out of control.

"I asked you a question Eouni, do you not have an answer?"

The original instinct had dread written all over her face as she throttled for an answer. "I-I was told to come, t-there was a voice, a new voice. One I never heard before, and it told me to explain to Inoue!"

"A voice?" asked the shinigami form of Orihime.

The albino faced the shinigami and continued, "Yes. I'm not to sure but…it seems we have a new resident."

The shinigami reached for her forehead and shut her eyes. A few moments later her eyes snapped open and she said, "You're right. I sense another soul." Her hand went back to her side. "But that's no excuse to leave without my permission, and then showing Orihime her power that hasn't even been unlocked yet. I hope you understand the punishment."

The albino turned away with shame written across her face. "Hai," she whispered.

The shinigami nodded. "Good, I'll take it from here. You go back, but be sure not to come in contact with this new resident, I have to contact it before you do." Then with a snap of her fingers, the albino form of Orihime disappeared.

The shinigami nodded her head once again in approval, until she heard some stuttering from behind. She totally forgot Orihime was there and she had some explaining to do.

"Y-you're my instinct?" asked Orihime, as the shinigami turned to face her. The teen was now standing up straight with confusion spewing from her aura.

"Yes," started the shinigami, "Me and Eouni are your instinct. I'm Emihiro, your first instinct. Surprisingly, even though I was made before Eouni, I have yet to have been unlocked. Eouni was the only one able to break the barrier with the help of your emotions. It's a shame really, I'm supposed to be unlocked with your emotion of happiness, which just means you are in a state of depression if I have yet to brake the barrier."

Orihime furrowed her eyebrows. It was hard to understand all of this, but she was shocked at how quick it was for Emihiro to explain rather Eouni. The shinigami went straight to the point, but her words gave a sense of content and peace, while Eouni's explanation took forever, and in the end, Orihime just felt more confused.

"I'm your inner self that was created when you first went to soul society. I am who you will become once you die."

That sent shivers up Orihime's spine. She already felt as if she was dead. Her thoughts went back to how Eouni showed how she wasn't important to her friends, how she was worthless, the weak one, and how-

"Would you quit being so depressing, you're just making Eouni stronger," the shinigami started, sensing Orihime's aura go from a confused one to that of a dreaded one," and soon she'll become a hollow and cause you even more pain. It's a struggle for me to keep her under control as it is, and your emotions are just making it worse. No wonder I can't break free to help you."

Orihime considered this then replied, "How can I not feel upset? Knowing all my friends think I'm weak, that I'm worthless, that I'm-"

"You're what?" questioned Emihiro, "Who told you this?"

The auburn haired teen looked up and replied, "Eouni did." Those words caused Emihiro to slap her forehead and sigh, "Great, she's already out of control, what am I going to do with you two?" Her hand fell to her side as she straightened her zanpakto. "All what Eouni told you was a lie, you do not have the power to read minds or go back in the past, it was all an illusion to allow Eouni to become stronger. She was toying with your emotions for her own gain."

Orihime's heart dropped. Even what Ulquiorra said about her being strong was fake, everything was fake, a tear slid passed her cheek as she muttered, "Even what Ulquiorra thought was fake."

Emihiro's eyes widened. "Ulquiorra?" she asked, "Eouni showed you thoughts of Ulquiorra?" The shinigami was speechless, "What did she show you about him?" Orihime was shocked at the tone of concern in her other instinct's voice.

"Well um…he called me strong, and he was reminding himself that he was my enemy." The teen spewed out.

The shinigami's composure collapsed. It didn't make any sense. If Eouni was trying to make Inoue weak, then why would she show her illusions of Ulquiorra saying these things? Wouldn't it just bring the teen back to happiness, or something in that state, more along the lines of content, but either way it still didn't make sense.

Then it hit her, _the voice, the new resident._

'_I have to check on this soul. Maybe then it will make sense.' _Emihiro thought to herself. With a snap of her fingers, the two were back in Orihime's room. Leaving behind the illusion of Ichigo and Ulquiorra fighting. '_Was that really an illusion back there?'_

"What's going on?" Orihime asked, wiping away her fresh tears.

The shinigami looked away, still ruminating on this situation. After a moment or two she said, "I'm not to sure. I'll come back tonight, and hopefully with an answer." Emihiro turned back to face Orihime, and if I can come back. You haven't unlocked me yet, so it very well could be impossible for me to return."

At that, the shinigami form of Orihime disappeared after a snap of the fingers, leaving Orihime back in her room, to ponder on what just happened.

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Emihiro walked through Orihime's soul, in search of this new resident.

Coincidently, the teen's soul was based on Las Noches and a field of flowers. When combined, one would walk through the corridors of Las Noches with flowers as the ground. At least there was some sense of happiness in Orihime's soul to bring forth the plants.

Her soul had been changing frequently.

With every step, a flower was planted beneath Emihiro's feet. She rushed quickly through the flower filled hallway and followed the scent of this new soul. Wouldn't you think two were enough, along with Shun Shun Rukka? Seriously, it was starting to get crowded. All the riatsu flaring around in one soul can really get on one's nerves.

The shinigami's thoughts went back to Ulquiorra. Emihiro was in fact Orihime, just…from the future, so you can bet she was feeling the same thing the real teen was. Unfortunately she didn't have a chance to see the illusions Euoni made, then maybe they could feel the same on this situation. _Were they really illusions?_

At least Emihiro was wiser then Orihime. Time is the best teacher, so the shinigami took this situation rationally, instead of crying her heart out. Thinking of that caused her to pity Orihime. If only she could learn to find the goodness in situations like before. Ever since she got back from Hueco Mundo, she was a different person. If only-

"Come with me, woman."

Emihiro stopped dead in her tracks at the voice that erupted the hallway. Her gaze lingered forward for a moment until she began to look around, but saw nothing.

"What is a heart?"

The voice again, was it the one Euoni was talking about? Emihiro took a moment and considered her situation as her concentration yielded out to the voice along with the owner.

She could faintly sense it, the lingering scent of it traced the shinigami's nostrils. Emihiro's eyes widened in shock, she recognized it.

"Ulquiorra?" she muttered under her breath.

"Are you Orihime?"

The voice was now closer. It didn't echo through the hall this time. In fact, it was as if it was right behind her. Emihiro spun around and almost lost the last of her composure. She furrowed her eyebrows as she tried her best to keep a collected face at the _new resident._

"No I am not." She replied.

Silence passed between the two soul residents, until Emihiro broke it.

"What are you doing here, Ulquiorra?"

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**o_O**

****waves hands hysterically****

**Finally we are getting somewhere with this story XD**

**Oh ya, Emihiro is Orihime spelled backwards and Euoni is Inoue spelled backwards too**.

**So….this week at school I had BAT testing, and it sucked that the 8****th**** graders ate lunch at like 2 o'clock, man I was starving D **

**Oh ya~ that kid is still poking me….and I'm plain sick of it. He knows I hate it, and he gives me that cocky grin after he does it, then walks away! He lives right around the corner, I'm so gonna egg his house now _ Oh wow…..guess what, I'm in TV Production again this year. I'm a plain tech geek at heart ^__^ But since I just recently got into writing, I lost some interest in film editing….so at Open House my TV Production teacher told my mom I was rebellious….what does that even mean?**

**OK…so….REVIEWS PLEASE!! D**


	4. Chapter 4

Ulquiorra considered this. He didn't actually know himself. Didn't he die, didn't he turn to ashes as he reached out to Orihime? All in all, he couldn't come up with an answer.

"I do not know," was his reply.

Emihiro furrowed her eyebrows. She didn't quite know what else to ask. If he didn't know himself, then what else could she do? One particular question did grow in her mind, and Emihiro being the person she was, went straight to the point.

"Ok, then why did you to tell Euoni to show Orihime those illusions?"

She had been wondering why.

"They were not illusions." Ulquiorra clarified, but didn't say anything else. He didn't even bother to explain his answer. He was so different; he spoke only when spoken to.

Emihiro realized this, and then asked, "If not illusions, then what were they?"

Ulquiorra emitted a barely audible sigh. If only he could grasp the word which best explained. But before he could reply, the shinigami cut him off with yet another question.

"Why did you want Orihime to see those images of her friends calling her weak and worthless?"

The pale man widened his eyes. He didn't know what to say, or how to say anything for that matter. Instead, he actually began to voice out his thoughts, straight from his lips.

"Her friends? I do not know what you are talking about. I can not even show images of her friends."

"And why is that?" Emihiro shot back. She didn't know exactly what she wanted out of him, but at least this was something.

"Because I have no reason to show her them. All what I asked Euoni was to show the images of I and Orihime."

Once again, the shinigami was still confused. "Why?" she questioned. Ulquiorra turned away from Instinct. Her glare was so similar to Orihime's that he wilted beneath it. In fact, it was Orihime, just who she will become in the future.

"Because I need her assistance."

Before Emihiro could inquire anything else, Ulquiorra decided to explain fully. Her voice, in fact being Orihime's, was causing him to lose his composure. It was like silk. If he heard anymore, he would lose control of himself.

"I long to understand….." He stopped. Even after planning on explaining everything, Ulquiorra found himself unable to understand exactly what it was he was trying to formulate into words.

Emihiro realized his lack of knowledge. Her expression went to that which imparted understanding, she had an initiative of what was going on now, she was Orihime after all, and a wiser one at that.

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Who knew all of this would have taken over a day. It was now early morning. The sun's rays blazed through Orihime's window as the auburn haired girl glared out into the sky. No school today, fortunately. But Orihime knew her friends would come over. They hadn't seen her in over a week, and them being the caring people they were, something was up.

Caring?

'_That's right.' _Orihime thought, _'They were illusions.' _Her mind raced to when she realized what Ulquiorra said was counterfeit. Why was she feeling this way? Her friends didn't think she was worthless, so why did someone else's opinion on her make such a difference. Ulquiorra wasn't even a friend.

Orihime rationalized if what he thought was true. Although none of her friends called her worthless, she still knew she was physically weak, and the thought of Ulquiorra maybe calling her strong, or strong willed made such a difference in the young teen's perspective.

At that thought, a knock was heard at the door. Orihime glanced at her clothing to see if she was decent. A nightgown was decent enough, right? The auburn haired girl rushed to the door of her small house.

Opening it, she discovered Ichigo standing there, dressed in jeans and a shirt that said, 'LMAO' She inwardly chuckled at it. "Ichigo…." She started.

The young man looked into her eyes worriedly as his hands fidgeted in his pockets. "Orihime, why haven't you been at school?" The question she dreaded has been asked. She felt like a fool now. She missed school because of the thoughts that she was worthless to her friends, which was proved false, so she didn't have an answer.

Although it was hard to do, especially to Ichigo, Orihime came up with a small lie.

"I felt as if I needed to recover from everything." She explicated. Looking back into his eyes, she felt disgusted with herself for thinking such thoughts of Ichigo and Rukia before. She knew those two were only friends, but her thoughts of jealousy for such a thing sickened her.

"Are you sure?" Ichigo furthered. Orihime nodded viscously back, "Yup. Don't worry about me."

There was nothing to worry about. She felt content knowing that she wasn't looked at as weak in the eyes of her friends. Her thoughts skimmed to, 'What does Ulquiorra think of me?'

Orihime quickly shook it off when she saw a genuine smile spread across Ichigo's face. "That's good to hear." He said with care. Ichigo tried to look pass Orihime's smile, checking to be sure it was real, and it was. "Well, Rukia is coming soon…" he started, breaking the ice, "She said she has something really important to show us." Ichigo announced enthusiastically.

Orihime smirked once more and said, "Great, I look forward to it." At those words, Ichigo slowly turned away, so his back was facing the teen, and said, "Well, I got to get going."

He slowly turned his head in her direction, "I'm glad you're ok, Orihime."

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As Emihiro and Ulquiorra walked through Orihime's soul towards their destination, the lighting all of a sudden brightened. The melancholic arrancar squinted his eyes due to the rays. The shinigami noticed his discomfort as a smile painted across her stoic expression. "This is good, Orihime is finally becoming happy."

Ulquiorra turned to face her as they continued their walk. "What do you mean?" he questioned, his eyes pleading for an answer. Emihiro raised an eyebrow, "I just said I'll explain once we get there."

~Earlier~

"You long to understand the heart?" she inquired, a glint of pride in her eyes at figuring something out Ulquiorra couldn't. The arrancar gaze traced the flowers on the floor and slowly made it's way to her eyes. Her intense stare was exactly like Orihime's.

He solemnly nodded.

A chuckle escaped Emihiro's lips as she crossed her arms against her chest. "You really are deadpanned Ulquiorra." A hint of mischief flashed across her silver pools. "Come," she started, "I'll take you to my chamber where I'll try and explain."

The stoic arrancar followed after the shinigami through the hallway of flowers.

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Emihiro's chamber consisted of a field of green, a sky of blue, and a feeling of pure. The shinigami set off with shunpo, her kimono fluttering behind her. Ulquiorra chased after her with sonidoe.

The two haulted at a tree, which provided shade from the light that didn't actually come from anywhere, it was just there.

Emihiro rested against the bark of the oak and Ulquiorra stood flawlessly, hands stuffed in pockets.

"I still do not know why I am here. I turned to ash after my fight with the substitute shinigami." Ulquiorra stated bluntly, expecting for answers in return. Although Emihiro should know less on this matter, he still had his faith in her.

The shinigami stared off into the field as a light wind caused her hair to caress her face. "Ulquiorra…." She started, "why do you want to know what a heart is?" Emihiro turned to face him, scanning his expressions.

Ulquiorra's face kept the same melancholic look, but on the inside, he was searching for an answer. Why did he want to know?

"Is it because you do not want to lack knowledge on any subject?" she asked, realizing that if this was true, then the arrancar shouldn't be here at all. Her thoughts drifted to how amusing it is that she didn't completely lose her mind after first seeing him here.

No answer.

"Is it because of something in your human life that greatly effected you?"

Once again, Emihiro was met with silence while Ulquiorra searched for an answer.

"Or is it because of Orihime?"

Ulquiorra's expression once again gave nothing, but on the inside, he began to tie the wires and part of it began making sense. Was it because of her? He never once gave a thought to it until his first contact with her. Her emotions had greatly affected him. Her compassion for helping her friends, the fear when he took her away, and the strength when he reached out to her, he wanted to understand why she could feel this, but he couldn't.

"Are you Orihime?" he asked, avoiding her questions.

The shinigami turned back to the field. "Did I not already say I'm not?" she shot back. "You resemble her though." He replied. Emihiro nodded her head. "Correct. I am who Orihime will become in the future, if she ever unlocks me though."

"What do you mean?" Ulquiorra asked.

"The other 'Instinct' who first heard your voice is Orihime's anger and frustration, while I am her peace and light. Each of us comes with new powers which Orihime will obtain after her emotions unlocked us. For Euoni, her power is to create illusions, which was exactly what she did to trick Orihime."

"They were not illusions," Ulquiorra said, "There were real."

Emihiro held up her finger, "I believe you about them being real, but only the things about you. Eouni showed Orihime things about her friends calling her worthless; those were illusions. The ones about you I was confused about at first, but after seeing you here, in her soul, I realize those thoughts came from your being directly."

"Correct, they did come from me."

"Then let me ask you this, Ulquiorra," the shinigami started, "Why did you want Orihime to see those images of what you thought?"

The melancholic arrancar considered this for a moment. "Because I wanted to know what a heart was. I thought if I showed how troubled I was on that matter, she could give me answer."

"Did you not already ask her directly, why did you think showing her those images would change the matter she already tried to explain."

Emihiro stopped for a moment, but then continued, not allowing Ulquiorra to even attempt to answer. "I was wandering as to why Eouni would show Orihime those images. The thoughts you had on her gave a sense of content, which is against what Eouni is trying to do. She is yearning to bring Orihime pain, so that her emotions strengthen her and sooner or later, the true Orihime will be gone and a monster will take over. I guess she took control of the situation and added some of her own illusions for that purpose. But….I believe she listened to your request because you are Ulquiorra after all, and this other being is Orihime, just not her now. It seems you have something over all of us."

She took a breath and continued as Ulquiorra allowed her words to soak in.

"Fortunately, part of what you thought about her did lift her spirit."

Ulquiorra furrowed her eyebrows, "What exactly did I say?" he asked, confused as to how anything he says can cause Orihime to feel joy, well…content really.

"That she was strong willed."

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"Dammit!" Eouni screeched as her fist made contact with the gray wall that was her chamber. The happiness Orihime was feeling caused her chamber to shrink, along with her powers. "If I don't stop this now……." She wheezed, "…I'll never get back, especially that Ulquiorra is here. I have to stop it before Emihiro realizes why he is here!"

Her hand faintly reached her hand as it touched her pure white hair. "I have to take away the happiness."

Waves of immense riatsu exerted from the albino's skull, riatsu that consisted of pain and sorrow. A mischievous smirk flashed across Eouni's face. "Savor the pain, Orihime."

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**This is probably the most confusing story I ever wrote. Oh well.**

**OMG! Art club was awesome! I found my otaku clan! I can't believe I decided to join after in my 3rd year of middle school****….that stinks ;p Oh~ and i'm not to good at writiing summaries...do any of you wanna make me one for this story?**

**Review Please.**


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